In a nutshell, I need to make myself, my interests, and my life more of a priority. I tend to be a yes-man who helps everyone and anyone, then at the end of the day find I have no time left for myself and my own endeavours.
I'm happy to say I lost 50 lbs about 4 years ago and have gained very little of it back.
I need to
- Get enough sleep on a regular basis
- Hit the gym more often
- Fire some of my clients who are PITAs
- Travel more
- Balance my time better
- Knock more things off my life bucket list. This year I went snowmobiling and skydiving, woot :)
The expected lifetime value of a custom acquisition is so high for these services that Groupon makes sense even if the conversion rate is < 5%. And, since most salon owners can push the risk downward to their commissioned (paid by the job, really) staff, there's even less disincentive. Only the staffers still trying to build a book of business will accept Groupon customers, and those employees' opportunity losses are low because they end-up sitting around between clients anyway. So, the risk/reward trade-off of using Grupon in these industries is quite good.
It's difficult for me to summarize all of my opinions into something more concise for this page.
Businesses tend to shun poor people, while businesses that cater to poor people are usually out to screw them as well. (payday lenders, banks that nickel and dime - especially if you are low on savings)
Some poor people could be in better positions if they had more time to pursue better opportunities, but they cannot, as they are working 2-3 jobs just to make ends meet (at least this is the case, one of my friends claims).. and I happen to know this person spends way too much on clothing - more than I do, not to mention my rent is 1/3rd of theirs.
I do fine, I live way below my means, I'm happy, I don't need fancy labels or a top neighborhood, which this person has all of.
I'm not saying all poor are the same in that regard. Some just really I don't know how they can escape their position.
Also I could easily own a home but I choose not to because I like my freedom. Right now I can move anywhere in the country, I can quit my job if I want to, etc.. I remember looking at homes this past spring and the idea of having a commitment or being in a vulnerable position (if I lose my job or get really sick I'm SCREWED) just did not appeal to me at ALL. How anyone does this is beyond me.
What about Wal-Mart? It hires the poor and caters to them as well.
You escape poverty by working your ass off and being extremely smart with your money. This is why rags to riches stories are so endearing because they are so exceptional. The difficulty with escaping poverty is not going to mc donalds when you have a little extra and want to treat yourself. It's buying one thing in bulk instead of a variety of foods. Its saving all that money and then buying one really nice piece of clothing so that people think you have money.
Basically it's all the tricks you need to know in life. My advice, ask any Japanese American / Canadian who lived during ww2 who was stripped of their assets and interned and then built all that back in the next decade.
The last paragraph of what you said tells me you already figured out what I was expressing in the post.
There are myriad reasons people may be poor. Some are circumstantial and should be considered with compassion, some are banal and essentially due to character flaws (such as silly spending).
I too live below my means (my income to rent ratio is ~220x, per NYC-style measurement) and will be leaving the country for an extended trip come Jan 7. I can only do this because I was aggressively saving my money and have very low expenses.
I have a collapsible table, inflatable mattress, laptop, and 24" monitor. Everything I own can fit in my car. I need more money. Sleeping on the floor was not fun.
I have money, I'm just kind of uber frugal. It's a nice air mattress, though.
I remember hearing a story about something like this and they were able to launder the chips through strippers, who cashed in the chips they received "as tips"..
